Tuesday, August 15, 2017

AMERICA’S FIRST GREAT ECLIPSE: HOW SCIENTISTS, TOURISTS, AND THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN ECLIPSE OF 1878 CHANGED ASTRONOMY FOREVER, by Steve Ruskin (Author)

Publisher: Alpine Alchemy Press (May 5, 2017)

America’s First Great Eclipse takes readers on a thrilling historical journey, revealing that nineteenth-century Americans were just as excited about a total solar eclipse as we are today … and, like us, were willing to travel thousands of miles to see it. The upcoming total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017 is being called the Great American Eclipse. But it is not the first eclipse to deserve that title. In the summer of 1878, when the American West was still wild, hundreds of astronomers and thousands of tourists traveled by train to Wyoming, Colorado, and Texas to witness America’s first “Great Eclipse.” America’s First Great Eclipse tells the story of a country, and its scientists, on the brink of a new era. Near the end of the nineteenth century, when the United States was barely a hundred years old, American astronomers were taking the lead in a science that Europeans had dominated for centuries. Scientists like Samuel Langley, Henry Draper, Maria Mitchell, and even the inventor Thomas Edison, were putting America at the forefront of what was being called the “new astronomy.” On July 29, 1878, having braved treacherous storms, debilitating altitude sickness, and the threat of Indian attacks, they joined thousands of East-coast tourists and Western pioneers as they spread out across the Great Plains and climbed to the top of 14,000-foot Pikes Peak, all to glimpse one of nature’s grandest spectacles: a total solar eclipse. It was the first time in history so many astronomers observed together from higher elevations. The Rocky Mountain eclipse of 1878 was not only a turning point in American science, but it was also the beginning of high-altitude astronomy, without which our current understanding of the Universe would be impossible.

STEVE RUSKIN is an award-winning historian of astronomy, with a PhD in History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Notre Dame. In anticipation of the August 21, 2017 eclipse, he has been researching, writing, and presenting about America’s first “Great Eclipse”—the Rocky Mountain eclipse of 1878—for over a decade. He writes about the history of astronomy, natural history, and scientific expeditions, and also writes science fiction and fantasy.

My hometown, Baltimore, is one of the most violent and dysfunctional cities in the country. The failed policies of socialism, anti-family values, and “soft on crime” have taken one of the most famous cities down from a population of 900,000 in the 1960s to roughly 600,000 today. But never fear: The liberal leaders in Baltimore and other blue cesspools have discovered the perfect solution to avoiding the difficult policy challenges of our time — they have declared war on Robert E. Lee.

Daniel Horowitz is a Senior Editor at Conservative Review. Prior to joining Conservative Review, Horowitz directed policy at the Madison Project PAC. His written pieces are often quoted in articles in the Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, Fox News and USA Today.Horowitz is also author of, Stolen Sovereignty: How to Stop Unelected Judges from Transforming America. (Publisher: WND Books (July 19, 2016)

ELVIS PRESLEY, THE LEGENDARY SINGER AND MOVIE STAR WHO BECAME KNOWN AS THE KING OF ROCK AND ROLL, DIED OF HEART FAILURE 40 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK. HIS DEATH ON AUG. 16, 1977 STUNNED THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AND DEVASTATED MILLIONS OF FANS WORLDWIDE.

Jim talks with WINK MARTINDALE, Game Show Host, Disc Jockey, Radio Personality, Television Producer, and friend of Elvis.

RICK DEES, an American entertainer, radio personality, comedian, actor, and voice artist, best known for his internationally syndicated radio show The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown.

Also, the legendary JACK PARNELL—joins us. All three are Tennessee Radio Hall Of Fame Inductees.

LES GARLAND is an American Entertainment Executive who currently leads mass media entertainment as the Founder and CEO of his company, AfterPlay Entertainment, a boutique, multi-disciplinary consulting practice that, in part, matches world famous talent with world-class brands. Garland was an executive or co-founder of networks including MTV: Music Television, VH1, The Box Television Network, and College Television Networks. He has worn many hats including Radio Personality; Radio Program Director; Record Company Executive; Event Producer; Music Talent Manager; Executive Producer; Brand Marketer; Public Speaker and Entertainment Industry Consultant.